Armour Collection B11E077 RAAF P-40N Kittyhawk Fighter - Wing Commander G.C. Atherton, 'Cleopatra III', 80 Squadron, 78 Wing (1:48 Scale)"I would evade being shot at accurately by pulling so much g-force ... that you could feel the blood leaving the head and coming down over your eyes... And you would fly like that for as long as you could, knowing that if anyone was trying to get on your tail they were going through the same bleary vision that you had and you might get away. I had deliberately decided that any deficiency the Kittyhawk had was offset by aggression. And I'd done a little bit of boxing — I beat much better opponents simply by going for [them]. And I decided to use that in the air. And it paid off."- Nicky Barr, 3 Squadron, RAAF

The P-40 was the best known Curtiss-Wright designed airplane of the Second World War. It was also one of the most controversial fighters, vilified by many as being too slow, lacking in maneuverability, having too low a climbing rate, and being largely obsolescent by contemporary standards even before it went into production. The inadequacies of the P-40 were even the subject of a Congressional investigation after the War ended.

While these criticisms were certainly valid, it is also true that the P-40 served its country well, especially in China and Burma, during the opening phase of the War in the Pacific when little else was available to the US Army Air Corps. Along with the P-39 Airacobra, the P-40 was the only American fighter available in quantity to confront the Japanese advance until more modern aircraft could be delivered to frontline squadrons.

This particular 1:48 scale replica of a P-40N Kittyhawk, nicknamed "Cleopatra III," was flown by the Royal Australian Air Force's 80 Squadron, 78 Wing, and piloted by Wing Commander G.C. Atherton. Sold Out!